Detroit fans were excited to see Pavel Datsyuk back on the ice Tuesday night, after injuries cut him short last season and early on in 2014. While Gustav Nyquist had been playing well in his place on the first line, Datsyuk remains one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the NHL and will boost the Red Wings offense down the stretch. However, his team happened to face the hottest team in the league in the Montreal Canadiens, who started 5-1 with the best record in the East.

The first period saw plenty of strong checks but no goals, as both teams fired ten shots on goal and headed into the locker room with a 0-0 tie. Henrik Zetterberg broke that tie in the 2nd period with a mid-range wrist shot to put Detroit up 1-0, the assists going to Datsyuk and DeKeyser.

In the third period, with about eight minutes left, the Wings almost built themselves a nice cushion as Datsyuk found himself on a fast break. After a quick move to the left, a backwards spin and a backhand shot, he found the back of the net. However, the goal was waived off because wing-man Justin Abdelkader interfered with Canadiens keeper Carey Price.

As the game went towards the final horn, Montreal tied it up with three minutes remaining off of Alex Galchenyuk's third goal of the season. With the puck hanging out behind the goal, he scooped it up and scored a beautiful wrap-around past Jimmy Howard.

The game headed to OT tied 1-1 but would not get to a shootout, as David Desharnais scored his first goal of the 2014 campaign. The Canadiens kept firing, and he was able to put it away on the third deflection. Montreal looks like an elite team early on, as they improve to 6-1 for the first time in over three decades, while the Red Wings fall to 3-1-2.

Detroit returns home to Joe Louis Arena for a big Thursday night matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins before a weekend trek to Wells Fargo Center to play the Philadelphia Flyers. Montreal has a few days off before they welcome the New York Rangers to the Bell Centre before heading out on a Western Canadian road trip early next week.

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About the author
Julian Rosen
Im a graduate of Christopher Newport University, majored in communications (Sports Media) and minoring in sociology. I am pursuing a career in sports radio, broadcasting and/or writing. I am a fantasy football writer for Spoon-Fed Sports, based out of Santa Cruz, California. I am also a Fantasy Sports and NBA writer for Vavel Sports. I am obsessed with Fantasy Football and the Detroit Pistons. Ask me anything about either one. I will be interned with the Detroit Tigers for the 2015 season and hope to land a local radio internship after that.